The Wingman
by bluebottlebutterfly
Summary: Sirius Black has met the girl of his dreams (the sixth of her kind, but I digress). However, she wants her friend to date before she'll even consider going out with Sirius. Sirius volunteers his best friend...
1. Strawberry Jam and Men in Drag

The Wingman

Chapter One: Strawberry Jam and Men in Drag

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"So, I met this girl today, right?" Sirius Black said to his best friend over drinks at the Three Broomsticks. 

"I don't know," James replied, taking the olives out of his martini and popping them into his mouth. "Did you? I wasn't there." 

Sirius ignored him. "Her name is Marielle, and she's completely gorgeous." 

"Mmm," James muttered, looking far more interested in his drink than in Sirius's newest conquest. 

"Only thing is," Sirius continued, acting almost as though James wasn't there at all, "she won't go out with me until her friend has a date." He let this sentence hang in the air as he glanced meaningfully at his friend.

James looked up jerkily from his drink and scoffed. "I will not go out with some girl I've never met and probably won't like just so you can get some." 

Sirius sighed exasperatedly. "It's not only about getting some, James; get your mind out of the gutter. Marielle," he declared dramatically, putting a hand over his heart and closing his eyes, "is the love of my life."

James snorted. "Just like Allison, Jennifer, Caroline, Isabelle, Sarah, Megan, Tiffany--"

"Necessary casualties," Sirius said, waving a hand impatiently. "Marielle is the only girl for me. Anyway, the girl's name is Lily. Redhead, freckles, killer legs--" 

James interrupted this time. "Have you actually met this girl?"

Sirius recoiled. "Well, not yet. You haven't agreed to go out with her yet." 

"How do you even know she actually has all of those attributes? Or that she's even a girl? 'Lily' actually sounds like the name of a drag queen."

Sirius made a face. "Stop being cynical. I assure you, she's a girl. Marielle would never lie to me. C'mon, James. Be a friend."

James sighed. "Fine. _One_ date. But don't expect me to marry this girl." 

~~~~~~

"James?" Lily asked skeptically. "His name is _James_?" 

Marielle sniffed. "What's wrong with 'James'?" 

"Well," Lily said, "it's not a very masculine name, is it? When I think of 'James', I think of strawberry jam. Strawberry jam is not exactly something I'd trust to save me from wolves or wild geese." 

"First of all," Marielle said, "you need to stop analyzing people's names. Second of all, I think 'James' is a very nice name. I would name my son 'James'. _Third, _didn't you say your last boyfriend's name reminded you of…?"

"Apples," Lily replied, almost wistfully. "But this isn't about Michael. Why did you even volunteer me for this? I don't need to date. I'm doing fine in that department, thank you." 

"Lily, you broke up with Michael six months ago and you haven't been on a date since." 

"I don't want to date. I especially don't want to date someone with the name _James._"

Marielle sighed. "What name is acceptable, then?"

Lily scrunched up her nose. "What about Benjamin? Or Clarence? Or--" She deepened her voice-- "_Derek." _

"Whatever," Marielle said impatiently. "Will you go on the date?"

Lily stared at her friend for a bit, then sighed. "Okay," she said reluctantly. _"One_ date." 

~~~~~~

Sirius stood in the bathroom mirror, applying liberal amounts of gel to his wet hair. "Are you ready to meet your beautiful date, James?" he asked James, who was sitting on the closed toilet seat and looking sullen, very cheerfully. 

"If she's a drag queen I won't come out of the house. You can tell her I came down with the bubonic plague." 

"Didn't that die out in, like, the 1600s?"

James did not look fazed. "Just because it's not as widespread as it used to be doesn't mean it's not around. The bubonic plague is like the wind…" 

"Of course it is. I'm telling you, James, it'll be great. You and Lily will hit it off, and even if you don't, it'll…" Sirius trailed off, grinning. 

James straightened. "It'll what?" 

Sirius replaced his gel in the medicine cabinet above the sink. "Absolutely nothing." He left the bathroom, James following closely. 

"No, what?" 

The doorbell rang. "There's the girls!" Sirius announced, dashing towards the door. James, who was admittedly quicker, made it there before him. 

The two stood in front of the door, Sirius smiling cheekily. "Well, don't let me stop you, James. You're obviously more eager to meet her than you've been telling me." 

Sighing, James opened the door. 

Standing on the front porch was Marielle, wearing a clingy hot pink dress, a black shawl, and too much makeup. "Hullo," she said cheerfully. "You must be James, lovely to meet you. Lily's standing by the car, she's being stubborn. Don't mention strawberry jam or apples. Where's Sirius?" 

She said this all very fast, and the comment about strawberry jam and apples threw James off a little. However, Sirius pushed James out of the way and proceeded to throw his arms around Marielle, who promptly squealed in delight. Rolling his eyes, James pushed past the chattering two and started walking towards Marielle's gold convertible, where a redheaded girl was leaning against the passenger seat door, her back to him. 

James reached her and tapped her shoulder. "Hi," he said. 

The girl, who was presumable named Lily, lifted her eyes to him and bit her lip. "Hi," she said, not taking her eyes off of his. 

"I'm--" James began.

"James," Lily said, smiling. "I'm--" 

"Lily," James finished for her.

Lily was not bad looking, James noted. Her hair--red, naturally or from a bottle? He'd have to ask or it would drive him insane-- was pulled back in a black elastic that looked as though it had seen better days. She wore a short blue dress and had selected large white earrings and a matching bracelet. And her eyes--a green that actually looked green, without a tinge of brown or blue or any other color-- looked over James as he looked over her. A slight blush rose to Lily's cheeks (dusted with freckles--how quaint) as she realized that he was checking her out. James felt his own face grow warmer.

She grinned a little nervously, and it was infectious: he grinned back. "Nice to meet you," Lily said, extending a hand. He shook it, and for once didn't analyze how firm the handshake was or how the girl's hand felt in his. He didn't look at or think of anything but her eyes. That green completely amazed him. He had never seen anyone, even in passing, who had eyes anything like Lily's. "Sorry to force you into this," she said breezily. "I didn't exactly want in, either. I'm not that desperate." 

"That's okay," James replied. "I kind of am."

She smiled at him again, and he returned it. 

Sirius and Marielle were at the car now, watching this exchange. "Can we go?" Sirius asked. 

James quickly took his eyes off of Lily's, almost guiltily, and said, "Yeah." 

~~~~~~~~~

"I was always doing things that didn't seem…well, as my sister would put it, _normal," _Lily told James over her soup. "But, of course, I didn't know I was a witch 'till I was eleven, when the letter came." 

"What House were you in?" 

Lily took a sip of her water. "Ravenclaw. I briefly remember you--you were Head Boy when I was Head Girl, remember? And I used to go to the Quidditch games and things like that, so I saw you play." 

"But we were never chummy," James added.

Lily nodded her head at him as she continued to drink her water. "Exactly." 

They continued this discussion, talking about who they still knew from school. Sirius and Marielle watched the two, chattering and carrying on as if they'd been friends for ages. Sirius met Marielle's eyes over the table. 

"Did you expect them to hit it off like this?" he asked quietly, so that James and Lily would keep talking. 

Marielle's eyebrows were raised in perplexity. "Absolutely not," she said wondrously. "I thought they'd be making forced, polite, blind date conversation. But…" She trailed off and shook her head in amazement. "Well, look at them. If they don't end up making out, they'll at least be friends." 

Sirius nodded, not having anything else to add to Marielle's comments. The two of them didn't say much after that, preferring instead to watch James and Lily, who had passed the subject of school and had swiftly moved on to the topic of past significant others. 

"What was your longest relationship?" Lily asked James. 

"A year. Turns out she'd been sleeping with some guy for about half that time, however, and when I found out, she didn't seem to understand why I was throwing her out of my flat." 

"She lived with you?" 

James smiled. "She was my roommate first." He didn't elaborate.

"Ah." 

"So what's yours?" 

"My longest relationship?" Lily asked rhetorically. "A year and four months." She sighed. "Actually, I just broke up with him six months ago." 

"Can I ask why?" 

She smiled slightly. "I think you just did. Well…" Lily stared down at her soup and stirred it with her spoon, clockwise first then counterclockwise. "He said he never wanted to marry me." 

"Oh," James said, feeling a little uncomfortable as most twenty-year-old men always do when marriage is brought up. "One of those guys who wants to stay a bachelor their entire lives?" 

Lily glanced up at him, meeting his eyes. "No," she said, very softly. "He just…never wanted to marry _me. _Said I wasn't…I wasn't the kind of girl he pictured himself marrying."

James registered this as possibly the worst breakup story he had ever heard. "That sounds…" 

"Horrible? It was. Which is why I would really like to steer clear of the subject, if you don't mind." 

James lifted his hands, his palms facing her. "I don't mind at all. I'm a little wary of my ex-girlfriends, as well."

Lily smirked, an act that made James slightly anxious.

"What?" he asked her, a little alarmed. 

Lily shook her head, still smirking. "How many ex-girlfriends do you _have_?" 

James stopped eating. "Why?" he said suspiciously. 

She shrugged, looking highly amused. "Well, you just seem like you're very experienced when it comes to the topic of women. I figured you'd have to have been with quite a few to know oh-so-much."

James couldn't tell if she was jerking him around or if she was really serious. "Well, I've only had six girlfriends…"

"A fair number," Lily said calmly. "Can you remember their names?" 

He was a little surprised at how forward she was being with him, but he really didn't mind. "Well," James said, beginning to think, "there was Raquel, when I was fourteen. That didn't last long, of course. Then there was…Amelia, when I was sixteen. Wendy, also when I was sixteen…Hannah, we were both seventeen…Then Chloe, just before I was eighteen…and then just Sheryl, the one I was telling about." 

Lily smiled. "You can recount their names. I'm impressed." 

"What about you? All of your boyfriends?" 

"There have only been three," Lily told him. "None that would interest you, I'm afraid." 

"Well, I just spent all that time giving you my illustrious dating history. You can at least do the same." 

Lily smiled again, and she seemed to be thinking about it. "All right," she said finally. "There was Joey, when I was fifteen. That only lasted a month and a half before he set his sights on one of his sister's friends. She was twenty-three and, needless to say, he didn't have a chance, but I very much enjoyed reveling in his rejection, which was very publicized thanks to the Howler he received from his sister telling him how much of a pretentious prick he was. Casey, when I was sev--no eighteen. That lasted six months, until I decided that I didn't want to be tied down to a man who still acted as though he were twelve for the rest of my life. And then there was Michael, and you know how that turned out."

"You get detailed," James commented. 

"Yes, well, women tend to remember little things more than men. Anniversaries, birthdays, and such."

"Well, that's not very fair, is it? That's a stereotype."

"Is it?"

"Yes."

Lily seemed very amused with James's indignant replies. "So if I told you my birthday now, you'd remember it and send me a birthday present?"

"If it would illustrate my point. Fire away."

"My birthday is December eighth," Lily told him, smirking. It was March. "And I expect a gift from you now, James Potter. I don't much care for gold, but I do like diamonds."

"Well, on December eighth you can expect a present, though I'm not promising diamonds of any sort. Let's make this interesting." 

Lily lifted an eyebrow. "Oh?" 

"Fifty Galleons says that I remember your birthday."

"One hundred," Lily said, her eyes flashing mischievously. 

"You drive a hard bargain," James declared, grinning at her. "But I accept." He extended his hand to her over the table and she shook it. 

"Can I have that in blood?" Lily asked him, keeping his hand in hers in the air. 

"We'll see." James dropped Lily's hand. 

~~~~~~~

Marielle pulled up to Sirius's flat, where James was staying for the night. Lily and Marielle followed the two out of the car to say their goodbyes.

"So," Lily said to James, smiling a little. "Can I expect an owl from you?" 

"Sure," James replied. 

"Is that sincere, or are you just telling me that so I won't break down and cry in front of your building?" 

"You'll just have to see, won't you?" James grinned at her, showing her that he was joking. 

"I suppose it would be inappropriate to kiss you," Lily said. 

"It would," James agreed. 

"So will a hug suffice?" 

"It would," James repeated, pulling Lily to him and holding her there for a few moments. Her hair smelled faintly like some kind of fruit that he couldn't name right off the bat.

Marielle and Lily went back to the car, Marielle walking backwards and waving at Sirius, somewhat seductively. Lily pulled her friend into the car, then walked to her own side, which was facing the building. She stood at the door for maybe three seconds, smiled at James and Sirius, then got into the car. 

"You and Lily were getting awfully buddy-buddy," Sirius commented as he went up to his flat, James trailing behind him. 

"So?" 

"So," Sirius said, "are you going to go out with her again?" 

"I don't think Lily and I have romantic potential, if that's what you mean," James told his friend. "If anything, we'll just be good friends." 

"You were flirting pretty hard for someone aiming to be 'good friends'." 

James was taken aback. "I wasn't _flirting," _he said. 

"Of course you weren't."

~~~~~~~~~

"You and James got on nicely," Marielle said to Lily on the way to her house.

Lily shrugged noncommittally. "I like him," she said. 

"Ooh," Marielle said, giggling slightly. "Husband material?"

Lily shook her head. "I don't think so. _Friend_ material, but not husband. He's a nice guy."

"That's it?" Marielle prodded, disappointed. 

"As far as I know." Lily stared out the window, signifying that she wasn't going to give Marielle the answer she clearly wanted. 

Marielle sighed, a little bit frustrated. "I just wish you'd give him a chance." 

Lily looked up, startled. "I am giving him a chance. Just…in a purely platonic sense. Guys and girls can be friends without all this pent up sexual tension or whatever." 

Marielle sighed again, loudly and deliberately. "Fine, Lily," she said.

~~~~~~~~~~

****

Disclaimer: All characters you recognize belong to J.K.R, not to me. 


	2. Sundays With Lily

The Wingman

Chapter Two: Sundays With Lily

****

"Check." 

Lily frowned as she scanned the board, searching for some miraculous escape from the trap James had just set for her. "How--" she began, but James cut her off. 

"Strategy, my dear Lily," he said, smirking as he leaned back in his chair, hands behind his head. The sunlight of the unusually warm April afternoon reflected off of the lenses of his glasses, blinding his opponent. 

It was a little over a month since James and Lily had been reacquainted on Sirius and Marielle's date, and the two had kept in touch, meeting every Sunday for lunch, dinner, shopping (a one-time occurrence that Lily had begged for, and one that James vowed would _never happen again_) or, in today's case, chess.

"I think you're cheating," Lily declared, still looking over the board. 

"I think you're losing," he replied, grinning cheekily. 

Lily smiled back at him, and by doing so, she was admitting that he was right. "Fine," she said, "I'll accept my defeat if you buy me ice-cream." 

"Deal." James handed Lily the pieces of hers he'd captured and cleared the rest of his pieces off of the board, and she did the same. They rose from the table in the park and began to walk toward Florean Fortescue's a noticeable foot apart from each other. 

"So," Lily said conversationally, "I have a date this weekend." 

James looked up from the ground, where he'd been kicking a rock as he walked. "Oh? Do tell." 

"His name is John Mitchell--" 

"How original," James commented wryly. 

"Shut up, it's not his fault. He works at a publishing agency." 

James frowned. "Is he a Muggle?" he asked curiously. 

Lily shook her head. "No, I met him at Gringott's. He told me about some of the books his company's published, but I can't recall them now. Anyway, we're going out this Saturday," James held the door open to the ice-cream shop for her, "--thank you--so you can hear all about it on Sunday." 

"Great," James said, glancing up at the menu. Oh, look--strawberry praline. Care to try it?" 

"Sure," Lily replied. 

James paid for their cones and they walked back out into the bright sunlight, causing them both to squint. "You know," he said lightly, "as your best guy friend, I do have to give you the obligatory big brother speech." 

Lily looked up at him, smiling. "I guess you do," she said. "Well, fire away, big brother." 

He cleared his throat importantly and began, "If he makes you cry, I will kick his arse. If he borrows money from you and never returns it, I will kick his arse. If he takes advantage of you, I will kick his arse. If he treats you like you're nothing, only you don't realize it because you're blind to his faults, I will kick his arse and slap you across the face to wake you up." He glanced up, seemingly finished. "How was that?" 

"Oh, simply lovely for your first time. I entirely approve and will keep that in mind." 

"Good," James said satisfactorily. 

******

"So," Sirius said, knocking back the last of his rum and Coke, "Marielle and I are going for fish and chips on Saturday. You should bring Lily." 

"Can't," James responded, spearing the last olive in his martini with a stirring straw and holding it up to the dim light, squinting at it. "Lily's got a date." 

"Oh," Sirius said darkly. "How do you feel about that?" 

James looked confused. "Fine," he said slowly, drawing the word out. "How should I feel about it?" 

Sirius shrugged and ordered another drink. "Never mind," he said.

His friend wouldn't let it go, however. "You think I'm in love with Lily, don't you?" he grinned. 

"Well," Sirius said briskly, "I think _love_ is a little strong, but I do think you have more than platonic feelings for her." 

James shook his head, laughing slightly to himself. "That's just typical. Well, I _don't_ love her like that, so you can get that out of your head. Guys and girls can be friends without having pent up sexual tension between them, you know." 

Sirius nearly choked on his rum and Coke. "You're _quoting_ her!" he exclaimed. 

"What?" James asked, a little bewildered. 

"Lily said that!" 

"Said what?" 

Sirius straightened in his chair and intoned in an exaggerated falsetto, _"Guys and girls can be friends without having pent up sexual tension between them, you know. _Lily said that to Marielle on the way back home that night. Good God, James, you're borderline obsessive."   
"Well, I only said it because she's right," James said. "How about them Wasps, eh?" 

Sirius noticed the quick change of subject , but didn't press his friend any more. 

******

"He's _how old?!" _Marielle demanded. 

"Oh, calm down," Lily said irritably. "He's only thirty-five." 

Marielle laughed. "You're _twenty." _

Lily rolled her eyes. "Yes, I'm aware of my own birthday, thanks. I just think that…you know, I need to date more mature men."

"Or," Marielle suggested, barely containing a snigger, "you just want to get your hands on some of those pension checks."

Lily sighed disgustedly as her friend burst into hysterical laughter. "Ha," she said dully. "I'm going out with him, Marielle, and I know I will have a wonderful time." 

"Yeah," Marielle said with a straight face, "and he can get you a senior's discount on your dinner."

******

"How was your date with Mr. Mitchell last night?" James asked Lily as they strolled aimlessly through Diagon Alley--not shopping, but looking for somewhere to eat. 

Lily sighed dreamily. _"Wonderful. _Oh, James, he told me that he's never met anyone as pretty as I am…and he brought me pink roses…_" _She stopped talking abruptly and blushed. "Should--should I not be talking about this with you?" 

James looked puzzledly at her. "Of course you should. I asked about it." 

__

"But--doesn't it make guys uncomfortable when girls talk about other men in front of them?" 

He laughed. "Of course it does, Lily. But it's not like we ever dated or anything like that, so it's not like I'm terribly jealous or anything."

Lily looked him over, decided to believe him, and continued babbling on about John Mitchell.

James didn't really pay attention as Lily detailed what kind of house Mitchell lived in, with the six horses and two indoor pools--he had inherited a large sum from his father when he died, including his large home. Instead, he tried to hold back annoyance at her girlish giddiness. 

"Anyway, he's having dinner at my house next week, and I'd like you and Sirius to come," Lily was saying, bringing James back to attention.

"What?" James said. 

Lily smiled. "Thank you for tuning in, Mr. Potter," she smirked. "Can you and Sirius make it?" 

"What--what day?" James asked, still a little dazed.

She bit her lip. "Tomorrow." 

_"Tomorrow?!" _

"Well, that's the only day he can make it," Lily explained hurriedly. "John is a very busy man, you know." 

"Lily, _I _have a job, you know," James told her. "I _do_ have to work tomorrow. What time are you planning on having this little gathering."

"Five-ish?" Lily replied meekly. 

James sighed exasperatedly. "Lily, are you _trying _to get me fired?" 

"So you'll come?" Lily asked brightly. 

James stared at his pleading friend and sighed again. "I'll see what I can do, all right?"

Lily squealed happily and threw her around his neck, catching him off guard and nearly causing him to topple over. "Oh, thank you, James!" she exclaimed. "It'll be great, I promise. You'll _love_ him, you really will." 

She pulled away from him, still beaming. James grumbled something in reply, all the while trying to fathom just how he had allowed Lily to get him into this.

****

Lily glanced down nervously at her watch again. "Where _is_ he?" she demanded again. 

Marielle, Sirius, and John all looked up from their still empty plates. "Well," Sirius said calmly, "I'd wager he's still at work. What about you, Marielle?"

"Oh, I second."

Lily sighed crossly. "He _told_ me he'd be here," she snapped.

"And he will be," John spoke up.

"He _is,_" a voice came from the front entryway, and suddenly, James appeared in the dining room, smiling slightly. 

Lily stood and took his arm, pulling him to his seat next to Sirius. "John, this is James Potter," she said, remembering her manners as hostess. "James, this is John Mitchell."

James, still smiling, extended his hand to John over the table. "Lily's told me so much about you," he said politely. 

"Oh," John replied, "all good, I hope?" 

"Not all," James responded thoughtfully as he sat down. Lily's eyes met his over the table, clearly warning him not to do anything he would regret. "She says that sometimes you make her feel too special." 

James winked at Lily, grinning at her. 

******

A/N: I am honestly quite shocked at what a good reception this is getting. Six favorites' listers for it, and nine reviews in six hours!! Really--you guys all made me very happy.

So, since there is enough space here--this chapter is rather short, isn't it? Sorry 'bout that-- I will thank my eleven reviewers _individually._ Oooh….

****

Placid Wind: First reviewer; lovely. I'm glad you like my Lily…even though I think her character is quite inconsistent…but then, I'm my worst critic. 

****

Kellie: Favorites' Lister!! I'm _so_ happy that you think my writing has improved since CitM, because that's what I use this site for--to help me get better, and to have someone say that I _have_….it's majorly appreciated.

**Excalibur: **Thank you very much. 

**PsYcHo Me: **Was this quick enough for you? J 

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Belandra: Well, since the characters are adults, I hoped I made it mature enough. Thank you.

**Zetta: ** The bet is a bit much, isn't it? I'll fix that later…though it may not be in the first chapter…

**Kate: **Thank you.

**Trinity Day: **::beams:: Nicest review I've gotten in a _long_ time. I'm thrilled that you enjoyed James and Lily finishing each other's sentences, because it was one of my favorite parts. Even though the first-date fics for James & Lily are, to me at least, highly unrealistic, they are always fun to read and write. Thanks _so much_ for brightening my day with your extremely encouraging review.

**Amelia: **::sigh:: I was hoping someone would get the commercial connotation, because that is honestly where I got the idea for this. I adore that commercial, and tip my hat to you ('cept I don't have one…so I'm tipping an invisible, imaginary pink bucket cap at you), my fellow TV junkie. _Wingmaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan………_:D

**Jedida: **It was funny? I didn't realize that…I'm thrilled to pieces that you think this is _another_ great fic…_another!_

**DracoFan626**: I updated!

**_~ To Come in the Next Chapter {subject to change, considering I'm horrible at keeping to this kind of thing}~_**

~James gives Lily his opinions on Mr. John Mitchell…are they real, or is he just trying to please her?

~Lily meets up with an ex-boyfriend, and is a little surprised at how different he is…anyone care to guess which boyfriend this is?

That's all I'll give away…

~Catie


	3. Reactions & Reunions

The Wingman

Chapter Three: Reactions & Reunions

--------

"I had a great time tonight, Lily," John said to her as they stood on her front porch. "Your friends are lovely." 

Lily beamed up at him. "Really? Oh, I'm so glad you like them--" 

"How long have you known that James character?" John interrupted. 

Lily recoiled slightly at hearing John refer to James as a 'character', but she ignored the pang of annoyance that filled her stomach at the remark. "Well," she said, "it's a little difficult to explain, but we were Head Boy and Girl together in school, but we were never friends…we were in different Houses. But then our friends--Sirius and Marielle, of course-- set us up on a _date, _and we just hit it off. He's much more mature now than he was in school," she added quickly. 

John frowned. "You dated him?" 

She laughed, albeit a little nervously. "Oh, no. It was a blind date, sort of, and those things never…never really work out, do they?" 

John didn't reply, but said, "Is he seeing anyone?" 

"James? No. He just broke up with someone, actually." She stared curiously up at him. "Why so curious about James?" Lily smirked. "Jealous?" 

John shrugged noncommittally. "No." Before Lily could comment further on it, he leaned down and kissed her, catching her a little off guard for a moment before she put her hand on the back of his head and pulled him closer to her, deepening the kiss.

The kiss lasted little more than three seconds before he broke it off. "Good night, Lily," he whispered, his mouth level with her chin, eyes set on her lips. "I'll owl you later." 

Lily was about to protest when he Apparated, leaving her standing alone on the porch steps. She sighed dreamily and opened the door to her house. 

James was leaning up against the wall next to it, looking highly amused. Marielle and Sirius, who were seated on Lily's couch, had equally cheeky smirks on their faces. Lily immediately flushed pink and closed the door quietly behind her, biting her bottom lip. 

Quickly, she asked anxiously, "Well…what did you think of him?" 

Sirius spoke up first, "He seemed all right…bit boring, but that's to be expected. He _is_ a book publisher…"

They shared a laugh about that one, and discussed John further, but James was being exceptionally quiet. Lily noticed this, but Sirius and Marielle didn't appear to. Lily decided not to bring attention until they were alone. 

*****

James had only just met John Mitchell and already he hated him.

He hated the way Mitchell would just snake his arm around Lily's waist at dinner, and she would giggle like a six-year-old on a merry-go-round. He hated the way Mitchell would interrupt a conversation to ask Lily to tell the rest what he'd bought her the day before. He hated the way Mitchell was _so much older than Lily…_

Of course, he'd never mentioned his age (it wasn't exactly the first thing one said when introducing themselves-- "Hello, my name is James Potter, and I'm twenty-one years, two months, three weeks, six days, and twelve hours old"), but there were wrinkles around his eyes that no one James's--or, more importantly, _Lily's_--age possessed. His hair was graying slightly 'round the temples…

James didn't know what it was, but every time Mitchell glanced his way, he got a gnawing feeling in his stomach and he felt like breaking something--but only for a split second, and then the feeling passed.

Which was why he was reluctant to reply when Lily asked him, "You've been awfully quiet. What do you think?"

James looked into her eyes--a stupid move on his part, because Lily's eyes were pleading wit him, practically screaming, _'Please like him, please like him, please like him…'_. "I think he's nice," he said finally. 

A look of intense relief washed over Lily's eyes, softening her expression. She sighed happily and said, "Oh, I _knew_ you would. John is _wonderful, _isn't he?"

"Spiffing," James responded. 

*******

"Oh, no, James, hide me," Lily gasped suddenly, jumping behind James and grabbing his shoulders forcefully. 

Slightly amused at Lily's behavior (but less so at the pain her rather long nails were causing to his shoulders), James began, "Lily, what--"

"Remember Michael? The ex-boyfriend who wouldn't marry me?" Lily muttered breathlessly, still clutching James's shoulders.

James concentrated for a moment, and just as Lily began to get frustrated, he responded, "Yes."

"That's him--no, there--standing in front of Flourish & Blott's." Lily pointed stealthily to a tall, blond man examining a display of books in the window of the bookshop. "Just--walk past him…maybe he won't see us."

No such luck. As soon as James passed Michael, he looked up from the display and caught Lily's eyes. 

"Lily Evans!" Michael exclaimed, quickly pulling Lily from James and folding her into a hug. Lily closed her eyes briefly and returned the hug, when Michael abruptly pulled away. "It's lovely to see you again…and who is this?" 

Lily, whose eyes were growing dimmer, said softly, "Oh, Michael this is my friend James Potter. James, this is…Michael."

James gave Michael a warm smile, which the other man returned as they shook hands. 

"So," Michael said conversationally, clapping his hands and rubbing them together, "how've you been, Lily?" 

"Oh, I've been…all right," she said, and her voice was still very quiet. "I'm--I'm dating someone." 

"Good for you!" Michael said emphatically, and he truly seemed happy for her. This did not, however, encourage Lily. Rather, her face seemed to fall at his excitement at her being attached. Clearly, she had been hoping for him to be devastated.

"What about you?" she asked politely, her voice growing still softer. 

Michael smiled sheepishly. "Oh, well, I'm getting married this Saturday."

Both Lily and James's heads snapped up. "What?" Lily inquired faintly. 

"Yeah, yeah. About two weeks after you and I broke up, I met a _great_ girl named Anna….fell in love with her….and proposed a month later."

"A _month?"_ James asked, as Lily seemed to be lost for words. 

Michael nodded, still grinning. "Everyone says we're rushing into things, but Anna and I think that we're perfect for each other, and we just couldn't wait any longer."

"How quaint," James said darkly. Lily looked away. 

Michael nodded again and said, "Well, I really must be going. Lily, it was lovely seeing you again. James, nice to meet you." 

"Mm hmm," James responded, concentrating on Lily, who could only stare at the ground. Michael gave one last smile and walked off. 

The two were silent for a bit, standing still in the middle of a swelling, bustling crowd. Finally, Lily looked up from the cobbled street. "I really don't want to talk about it," she said, her voice still remarkably quiet. 

James searched her eyes. "All right," he said. 

Lily drew in a shaky breath and swiped away tears. "I'm being ridiculous, aren't I?" she mumbled, trying to laugh but failing. "I mean…I've got John…and I'm _over_ Michael; I've _been_ over Michael…"

"Lily," James said, his voice softened, "who are you trying to convince?"

She glanced up at him (he was a full three inches taller than she), and again tried to laugh. "Don't get sentimental on me now, James," she said harshly.

But the question stuck in her head the rest of the day.

**********

A/N: Yeah, sorry that was a really short chapter. The next one will be longer, I can almost promise you that. I simply _adore_ the reviews I've been getting; they're wonderful and constructive, and I'm just thrilled to pieces, which is why I pounded out this chapter tonight, rather than put it off until tomorrow.


	4. The Secretive Mr Mitchell

The Wingman

Chapter Four: The Secretive Mr. Mitchell

***

__

The trouble with love is

It doesn't care how fast you fall

And you can't refuse the call

So you've got no say at all

Every time I turn around

I think I've got it all figured it out

My heart keeps calling and I keep on falling

Over and over again

Yes, that story always ends the same

Me, standing in the pouring rain

It seems no matter what I do

It tears my heart in two

~Kelly Clarkson, "The Trouble With Love"

********

"I say we have dinner at your house," John suggested, wrapping his arms around Lily's neck. 

She buried her face in his chest. "We _always_ have dinner at my house," she replied, voice muffled. "You're always talking about this spectacular manor of yours, and I've yet to see it. I'm beginning to think you're hiding something." 

John laughed. "I'm not hiding anything."

It had been four months since Lily had first introduced John to her friends, and they were steadily becoming very serious--something that made James very nervous. He always avoided the topic of John like the plague. Lily never tried to steer the conversation towards her boyfriend when James deliberately changed the subject because James would always start mumbling derogatory comments under his breath. Since James's opinion held a lot of influence in Lily's life since they had become friends, this often made her very upset. A few arguments had arisen because of this, and for now, James and Lily silently agreed to disagree, and John was almost never brought up.

Tonight, it was raining. It had been raining for about a week straight now, and showed no sign of stopping. Lily glanced out the car window at the weather and sighed. 

"All right," she agreed. "To my house it is."

~~~~~~

James knocked on the door to Marielle's house. It was Sunday, late Sunday, and Lily hadn't been at her house this morning when James went to meet her there for their weekly outing. He had decided to let it go for now and meet her for dinner. However, she wasn't at home at 8:30 either, and he was starting to get a little worried, and the first person he could think of to ask about Lily's whereabouts was Marielle.

Marielle answered the door about three minutes after James had first knocked, wearing white pajama bottoms spotted with red polka dots and a red tank top that read, "Flower Power to the People." She was tying her hair back with a purple hair band and yawning when she opened the door. "What're you doing here?" she asked, surprised to see James at her door so late without Sirius or Lily.

"Good evening to you too. Have you seen Lily?"

Marielle gave James a strange look. "Isn't she with you?"

James sighed exasperatedly. "If she were, why would I be bothering with you?" 

"You are truly a charming individual, James Potter," Marielle smirked. "Well, if Lily's not with you, I'd wager she's with that boyfriend of hers."

James made a derisive noise under his breath, causing Marielle to grin. 

"You really _are_ jealous, aren't you?" she said. "And I thought Sirius was exaggerating."

"I'm not jealous," James snapped, "I just think that…that Mitchell is…you know…_up to something._"

"Oh?" Marielle said, her interest piqued. "Care to elaborate?"

"Wish I could," James replied, sighing a little. "I know something's off with him, I just can't put my finger on it…" Noticing he had Marielle's complete attention, he deliberately trailed off. 

"Sirius told me that you and Lily ran into Michael a few months," Marielle said eagerly. "Anything to say on that subject?"

"Oh, nothing," James said, smirking a little, "other than Lily is still completely in love with the bloke." 

Marielle gasped excitedly. "I _knew_ she was, I just _knew_ it!" 

"She'll never admit it, of course," James continued. "She won't even talk about it."

"Ah, well," Marielle said darkly, "that's to be expected." 

James glanced curiously at her. "Why's that?"

"You didn't see her when she and Michael first broke it off. Lily went completely off her rocker." 

"What do you mean?"

"She was just…distant. Closed off. She'd trail off in the middle of a sentence, or start crying, mostly for no apparent reason. We were in a restaurant once, and in the middle of dinner, tears just started falling, and she had no explanation for it." 

James frowned. "Michael's married." 

Marielle's eyes widened, and she looked incredibly surprised and a little saddened. "Already?" she said, her voice so quiet it was almost a whisper. 

"Yes," James responded, a bit sadly. "Lily refuses to talk about anything near the topic." 

~~~~~~~

"John, what do you think of marriage?" Lily asked carefully over dinner. 

John chewed the piece of salmon in his mouth very slowly before replying, "I'm not against it." 

Lily bit her lip. "Do you ever…want to get married?"

John sighed. "Lily, where are you going with this?" he demanded, setting down his knife and fork a little more forcefully than necessary, causing Lily to flinch. 

"I--I don't know," she said softly. 

"Of course you do," John spat. "You want to get married." 

Lily had never seen John this aggressive before, and it was scaring her a little. "Well…eventually…I suppose…." 

"Well, Lily I can't marry you." 

Lily felt her heart plummet and her eyes well up with tears, just as they had when Michael had told her that she was 'not the kind of girl' he pictured himself marrying. But instead of starting to cry, Lily got defiant. "And just why not?" she asked. 

~~~~~~~~~

There was a very loud knock coming from the direction of James's living room. Automatically, James opened one eye to peer at the bedside clock. However, his eyesight was shot, and he was unable to determine exactly what time it was, but that it had to be late. He groaned and turned over, trying to go back to sleep and ignore the knock. 

But the knocker grew more persistent, the knocks coming in rapid, urgent succession. 

Sleepily, James threw back his covers and stumbled into his living room, which was lit only by the occasional flash of lightning peeping in through the curtains. James grumbled the whole way to the door, which was still being pounded on, even more impatiently. 

"I'm coming," James snapped. He unlocked the door and opened it. 

Standing on his doorstep, dripping wet from head to toe, was Lily. She looked very upset, and James could tell (by squinting very hard at her) that she had been crying. 

"He's married, James," Lily told him, her voice wobbling. "He's _married, _and I never…I never knew…" 

James sighed. "Come in, Lily." 

Sniffling, she did so, and he closed the door behind her. Lily stood in front of the door, seemingly unable to move. 

"Now, who's married?" James asked as he crouched in front of his fireplace, lighting a crackling fire with his wand. "Come here; you're going to get sick." 

Lily still didn't move, but merely stared at the fire, which reflected in her eyes, causing them to glow eerily orange. James sighed and went to her side. He pulled her to the fireplace and sat her down in front of it. He retrieved an old plaid blanket from the sofa and draped it around her shoulders. 

"You know who's married," Lily mumbled. "John is married. You were right." She lifted tearful eyes to James. "What is wrong with me? Why am I stupid enough to believe…to believe that these people actually love me, and that they're not just with me to pass the time? Why do I attract these kinds of people? _Why does this always happen to me?_"

James moved closer to her. "There is nothing wrong with you," he replied. "You're one of the most spectacular people I have ever met. You're smart, you're funny, you're very pretty…and if the people you date can't see that, then maybe we should take you off the market." 

Lily met his eyes. "You're only saying that because you're my friend." 

"No, I'm not. You're the kind of girl I always pictured myself marrying."

Lily shook her head. "Don't…say things like that. We all know I'm easy to charm, and if you keep going like that, I might end up sleeping with you. Or worse, _falling_ for you."

James suddenly felt very strange. "What would be so bad about that?" he asked her, in a very odd, husky voice. 

Lily searched his eyes, and in a single instant, grabbed his face and pressed her lips to his.

~~~~~~~~


	5. This Changes Everything

The Wingman

Chapter Five: This Changes Everything

------

James woke up the next morning to find his bed empty. Lily had apparently left. There was no sign of her: no note, no forgotten clothes, not even a single strand of red hair on the pillow that she had slept on the night before.

He remembered rolling over, very early in the morning (maybe four o' clock), and seeing her asleep there next to him, a slight smile on her face. He had been filled with an intense feeling of contentment, and had easily dropped off to sleep again. Knowing Lily was there completely altered his mood.

But she wasn't here now. 

Oh, well, James thought. He'd just talk to her in an hour or so.

~~~~

Lily didn't want to talk to James in an hour or so.

In fact, she wasn't sure she ever wanted to talk to him again. 

She could not _believe_ James had done that to her. He knew that she was in a terrible amount of pain (she'd cried, after all), and he just took advantage of that. Lily had gone to James because she expected him to say, "I told you so", but then go straight over to John's house and yell at him in Lily's defense. She _didn't_ expect him to sweet-talk her into bed with him.

And she most certainly didn't have romantic feelings for James, and she knew that he didn't have any for her, and that eased her anger slightly. Maybe James had been drunk. Yes, that had to have been it. James had been drunk. 

She hoped he had been, anyway. Lily wouldn't know what to do if the truth turned out otherwise.

~~~~~~~~~~

"You _what?"_ Sirius demanded, grinning. "Tell me again, James. I don't think I heard you correctly the first time." 

"I slept with Lily," James said, through gritted teeth. "But I woke up this morning and she was gone. She hasn't spoken to me since. Have you seen her?" 

Sirius laughed. "No, I haven't seen her. Not like you have, anyway." 

James closed his eyes. "Sirius, I swear to God…" 

"Oh, you know I'm just kidding. I think it's great that you and Lily are together." 

"But we're _not. _I've sent her eight owls, and she hasn't replied to _one_ of them. I'm a little worried about her…" 

"Oh, I wouldn't be worried about Lily," Marielle's voice said from behind them. "I _would_ be worried about your safety, though." 

James looked puzzled as Sirius laughed uproariously. "Me?" James asked. "Why?"

"Well, she's pretty hacked off that you took advantage of her that night," Marielle replied. 

"Took advant-- she came onto _me!" _James exclaimed.

Marielle shrugged. "Well, obviously, I wasn't there, so I don't know. She's at her house, though, if you really want to talk to her." 

"Thanks," James said shortly, grabbing his jacket and sprinting out of the bar. 

~~~~~~~~~~

Lily sat at her kitchen table, thumbnail in her mouth, staring absently at the door as James pounded on it, much as she had the night before at his house. 

"Lily, I know you're in there!" he called. "Come on, I need to talk to you!" 

She still didn't reply, didn't even move. 

"Lily, I'll kick the door down. I'll break the window!" 

Silently, Lily stood up and went to the door. She stood in front of it, trying not to cry, and opened it. She didn't look up from the ground as she stayed in front of the door. James walked to the couch and sat down, but didn't say anything. 

"We shouldn't've done that last night," Lily said quietly, after what seemed like hours of silence, but was probably only thirty seconds. 

James looked up at her. "Why not?"

Lily suddenly grew very defiant. "James…you're my best friend. Friends don't French each other, they don't say they want to marry each other, and they certainly don't _sleep_ together."

"I'm your best friend?"

"Well, you _were_! Until you…until you did _that." _

James almost laughed. "Oh, I'm sorry. I wasn't aware that _I_ was the one who initiated the whole thing." 

"Then you must've been drunk, because you were," Lily said hotly. 

James scoffed in disbelief. "Lily, were you _there_ last night? You kissed me!" 

"You're delusional!" Lily exclaimed. 

"Fine, Lily," James said. "Believe what you want. Yes, I snogged the pants off you--quite literally. But you were conscious, you were sober, you knew exactly what you were doing. I don't regret it and neither should you." 

"But I _do._ James, the fact of the matter is you took advantage of me. I really _wasn't_ conscious. I had just found out that I was my boyfriend's whore, and you were the first person I thought of to go to, because I was sure that you'd be understanding and tell me to snap out of it and ask me why I didn't notice it before. But then you turned into one of those _creeps_ who always comes onto vulnerable, stupid girls like me in bars and gets them pregnant then dumps them because they were only looking for a one night stand."

James stared at Lily, who was out of breath and very upset. 

"Okay," James said slowly. "Okay, you want me to tell you what I _really_ think?"

"What do you really think, James?" Lily asked, somewhat sarcastically. 

"I think that you can't believe someone could actually _love _you. You're too busy dwelling on your past failures. You're so concerned about what you did wrong in the past that you can't even see what you're doing right. _That's_ why Joey, and Casey, and Michael, and John didn't want to marry you, Lily. You're so goddamn focused on the negative aspects of a relationship that they didn't know whether or not you could see the good in it."

"You know," Lily said, her voice cracking slightly, "in seventh year I had the biggest crush on you. I'm so glad I grew out of it."

"You know," James responded coldly, "last night I thought I might've been in love with you. But I'm so glad that I realized that I could never really love you before I did something stupid like propose to you. Thanks for showing me that, Lily. I'm forever indebted to you." 

And with that, he crossed the room, opened the door, and slammed it behind him. 

He never looked back.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Okay, Lily," Marielle called as she came into Lily's house by way of the open door, "what have you done to James?" 

"Put him in his place," Lily responded stiffly. She was lying on her sofa, pretending to read the _Daily Prophet. _

Marielle sighed and sat on the coffee table facing the sofa. "I don't think you're being fair to him. He's really torn up…" 

Lily sat up. "Marielle, you don't understand. James _took advantage of me._ I mean…." She trailed off, sighing. 

Marielle's eyes twinkled. "Was he a good kisser?"

Lily's head snapped up. "What?" 

"I said, was he a good kisser?" 

Lily flushed. "I--I wasn't paying attention."

"You had to have been. So…was he?"

She sighed and flopped back onto the couch and covered her face with the paper. "You've no idea. But that doesn't forgive the _way_ he kissed me." 

Marielle bit her lip. "Lily, do you want to know what I think?"

Lily uncovered her face and inclined her head so that she was facing her friend. "Not really, but I know you're going to tell me anyway."

"I think you're making a big mistake." 

Lily sighed again. "And why is that?"

Marielle answered the question with a question. "Lily, what is the _real_ reason you had sex with James last night? It's not because you 'needed someone' and James just happened to be there. I think that deep down, ever since you met him, you've wondered about what it would be like to be with him. And now you've found out, and you're scared of it." 

Lily recoiled. "I'm not _scared_ of anything," she snapped. 

Marielle put a sarcastically surprised face. "Oh?" 

"Yes."

"Then why won't you talk to him?"

"I _did_ talk to him," Lily responded. "And look where that got me."

~~~~~~~~


	6. Where to Go From Here

The Wingman

Chapter Six: Where to Go From Here…

~~~~~~~~~~

James came storming into the bar and headed over to where Sirius and Marielle were talking and laughing over watermelon margaritas. _How dare they be happy, _James thought briefly before reaching them. 

Sirius noticed his friend's dour mood immediately. "Didn't go so well, eh, mate?" he asked lightly, referring to James's chat with Lily. 

"You could say that," James responded darkly. He threw himself into the seat next to Sirius at the bar. "'Friends don't French each other, they don't say they want to marry each other, and they _certainly_ don't sleep together.' Well, thank you, Lily, for clearing that up for me. It appears as though I've been doing this whole friendship thing wrong for twenty-one years." He sucked in a breath, as that rant had left him quite winded, and snapped to Madam Rosmerta, who was pretending not to be listening intently, "Give me a bottle of Yeager with a straw." 

Madam Rosmerta raised her eyebrows at James's rather extreme request, but filled it quietly anyway. James took the bottle from her, unwrapped the straw, and stuck it in the bottle. He slurped the drink loudly and morosely, hands supporting his head, eyes staring at the bottle.

Sirius laughed softly at this, knowing from many past experiences that James couldn't hold his liquor to save his life. 

"But," Marielle said, apparently trying only to be helpful, "at least it's not like you wanted anything to come out of this, right?" 

She failed at being helpful.

James bent his head over his drink in an attempt to hide the blush that was rising to his face as Sirius guffawed loudly. 

Marielle smirked. "James," she said, in the way that you speak to a two-year-old when trying to coax them into finishing a snack or getting in the bath or lying down for a nap, "are you in love with Lily?" 

"I don't love the way she's acting, that's for sure," James said sourly, stabbing his straw further into the bottle of Yeager to suck up the last few drops hiding at the bottom of the bottle. "And I didn't love her twenty-four hours ago. Or, maybe I did and I just didn't realize it. I'm still very hazy on the whole subject, to be honest."

"But the Yeager's helping," Sirius muttered under his breath. James and Marielle both chose to ignore him. 

"But you're in love with her now," Marielle prodded.

"Gods, I don't know," James replied, sounding very frustrated. "All I know is that when she was sitting there by the fire, crying and feeling very sorry for herself, she looked very pretty and all I wanted to do was kiss her. There, are you happy?" 

Marielle sighed dreamily. "And then you _did_ kiss her. That's very romantic." 

Sirius grunted. 

James snorted, again ignoring Sirius. "_I_ didn't kiss her. I kissed her _back, _but she _did_ kiss me first, no matter what she says. And it really wasn't that romantic, actually." 

"Do you want me to talk to her?" Marielle asked softly. 

James glanced up at her. "If you want," he said, trying to pretend as though he really didn't care what Marielle did. However, she saw through that. 

She smiled. "Okay." Marielle stood, tossed back the last of her margarita, kissed Sirius quickly (James scowled) and turned to go. 

James and Sirius watched her retreating figure (Sirius smiling, James glowering). Once she'd closed the heavy oak door behind her, Sirius turned to his best friend. 

"What do you think's going to happen, mate?" he asked. 

James, who had attached his mouth to his straw again, shrugged. 

Sirius sighed and took the bottle from James, who didn't bother to protest. "Really, James." 

"Don't know," James responded truthfully. "I really don't." 

"What do you want to happen?" 

James looked up and met his eyes. "I _would_ like to be with Lily," he admitted. "But more than anything, I want her to be happy. Last night…seeing her like that…it was horrible. I don't want to see her like that again, and if that means that I can't speak to her again…" He trailed off, then picked up the sentence a little too cheerily. "But hopefully that won't happen." 

_Hopefully._

~~~~~~~~~~~

"He loves you."

Lily's head snapped up. "No, he doesn't," she said. 

Marielle nodded sadly. "Yes, he does. Even though I don't really see why right now…" 

Lily sat up indignantly. "Now, that's unfair!" she declared. 

"No, it's not, Lily. James has every right to hate you, and truth be told, he probably should, the way you're treating him. He's trying, and you're blocking him out." 

"You're a woman. You're supposed to be on my side," Lily said, flopping back on the couch.

"Not when you're being so irrational. For once, it's the man acting reasonable and the woman acting completely stupid." She smiled, then sobered. "But really, Lily. At least talk to him, hear him out…you don't have to end up snogging him, and you don't have to marry him. Just…try to salvage your friendship, okay? That'd be a terrible thing to lose." 

Lily stared Marielle in the eyes, really thinking it over. Finally, she sighed. "All right. I'll talk to him." 

"Rationally?"

"Rationally," Lily promised. "Now where is he?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sirius was trying to get James to drink a Sobering Potion when Marielle walked in, followed by Lily. 

James spotted her, and downed the potion in one gulp, eyes closed. He winced, waited a few moments for the potion to take effect, and opened his eyes. Lily bit her lip and stood in front of him, arms crossed over her chest. Sirius leapt from his seat, and Lily took this as her invitation to sit in it. She turned her chair so that it was facing James. 

Neither of them said a word for maybe two minutes; just looked at each other. Finally, Lily spoke softly, "I'm worth a whole bottle of Yeager, James?"

He smiled a little. "Would've been two if you hadn't shown up." 

They grinned at each other for a moment, and Lily said, "I'm sorry." 

"Yeah, you should be," James responded. 

Lily bit her lip again and nodded, agreeing with him. "James," she said, very quietly, "do you--do you love me?"

James sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah," he replied. "Yeah, I guess I do." 

Lily didn't say anything, but her face fell. 

"I'm guessing by your expression that you don't love me like that," James said. 

Lily shook her head. "I'm really, really sorry," she started, tears beginning to fill her eyes. 

James held up a hand. "Don't be sorry," he smiled. "I'll get over it eventually. I always do. Being friends with you means more to me right now than being _with_ you." 

"You know, if…if we were in a different situation," she said, "I probably would love you."

He smiled patiently. "If we were in a different situation, I probably wouldn't." 

Lily bit her lip again, realizing that he was right. She met his eyes and asked, "Are you okay?"

"Oh, I'll be fine…girls like you breaking my delicate heart happens all the time…" They both laughed a little at that, and Lily leaned over, filling the space between their chairs, and put her arms around his neck, hugging him. He hugged her back, and smoothed her hair. "Really, though, Lily," he whispered in her ear, "I don't want you to feel guilty about me." 

She nodded against his shoulder. They pulled apart and grinned at each other. "Friends again?" Lily asked, extending her hand. 

"Friends," James agreed, shaking it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: Poor Jamesie. ;) Don't worry about him, though…he'll be just fine…Lily's quite the heartbreaker, isn't she? :D

THANKS SO MUCH FOR THE CONTINUOUS FLOW OF REVIEWS!!! I LOVE THEM!!!

There have been some comments that this story is a lot like the movies "Boys and Girls" and "When Harry Met Sally". I have only seen parts of the latter, and even when I did, it was about one in the morning (Conan was over and I wanted something to fall asleep to), so I really wouldn't know. I haven't seen the former at all, so I _really_ wouldn't know about that one. luckily, however, none of the comments concerning the coincidences between the movie and the story have been negative, and I thank you for not all out accusing me of plagiarism, because I certainly haven't plagiarized anything--to my knowledge, anyway. 

Oh, yes: I got James's "bottle of Yeager with a straw" from Seth Meyers from the Nia Vardalos episode of SNL. I love Seth, especially his commentaries on Weekend Update…but not as much as Jimmy Fallon!!


	7. Petunia's Wedding

The Wingman

Chapter Seven: Petunia's Wedding

(Here's hoping that _everyone_ will be able to access this chapter…::crosses fingers::…though I guess typing that is kinda pointless, because if you can't get this chapter, then obviously, you can't…never mind. I'll shut up now.) 

~~~~~~~~

It was a Sunday; so naturally, James and Lily were together, watching a Quidditch game. Even though Lily detested Quidditch, James had forced her to come with him as payment for the shopping episode. 

"So," Lily said conversationally before the game had begun, "my sister phoned this morning." 

"The sister you hate?" 

"I only have one sister, but yes," Lily replied crossly. The subject of Petunia always soured her mood. "Anyway, she's getting married next month."

"And you want me to come with you, as you cannot show up without a date, due to your mother's wants for you to be married and bear children, and you are currently boyfriend-less," James guessed, grinning at her. "Not that I didn't try to fix that situation for you," he added. 

James had no problem talking candidly, or even joking about, his affection for Lily, even though she always said it made her deeply uncomfortable. But that was the way James dealt with things he couldn't change: by making humor out of it. 

"Yeah," Lily said, rolling her eyes slightly at the added comment. She had learned that it was best to just ignore these sorts of jabs when they popped up, lest James get serious and start saying wise and poignant things, which, as it turned out, he was very good at. "So, can you come? It's on the first of November." 

"I'll have to check with work and everything, but it should be all right," he responded, throwing popcorn into the air and catching it in his mouth. 

Lily rolled her eyes at the immaturity of this, but then remembered that boys never really grew up. "Thank you," she said. "You'll be rescuing me from a day of boredom and socialites." 

__

James grinned. "Ah, yes, we all know those socialites are out to get you."

"They are," Lily said solemnly. "Every time I see them, 'Oh, Lily Annette--aren't you married yet?' 'Lily Annette--any children on the way?'"

"They call you 'Lily Annette'?" James asked, eyes twinkling behind his glasses with sincere amusement. 

Lily blushed a bit. "Shove it, James Thomas," she responded.

"Anything for you, Lily Annette," he said jauntily. 

~~~~~~~~~

"Oh, and there's my aunt Irene…she's been married for 47 years, and her husband's been deaf for 20, so she always yells when she talks….My cousin Carl…everyone except his parents have known he's gay since he was twelve, but they're still denying it….My uncle Henry, who will believe anything you tell him (my sister and I used to tell him that the Nazis were coming, and he'd put us in the basement 'till my mother would figure out what we were doing)…" 

Lily was holding on to James's arm as though he were the last lifeboat on the Titanic as she pointed out her assorted family members, plastered on a smile as she waved to them, and related, through the smile, their quirks. 

The actual wedding ceremony was over, and now they were at the wedding reception, looking for their seats at the twelve round tables with hideous pink tablecloths with sprays of pink and yellow roses as centerpieces. At the head table, in front of a massive banner that read, _"Petunia & Vernon, Together Forever"_ in curly pink letters. 

Lily wrinkled her nose as she surveyed the scene. "This is completely disgusting," she muttered. 

"I don't think I've ever seen this much pink in my life," James muttered back in awe. "It looks like a valentine threw up." 

Lily tutted in agreement, then said, "Oh, look-- 'Lily Annette Evans & Guest'." She rolled her eyes. "God, would they leave out my middle name for _once_?" She sank down in her seat and put her head in her hands. Before long, she felt James's hand on her back and she sat up immediately. Even friendly shows of affection from him made her slightly jumpy and nervous. 

James's eyes flickered at this sudden action, but he looked to the seat next to him and read the place card when he noticed Lily looking at him. "Who is Claire Olivia Ryan?" he asked. 

Lily glanced at the card he was holding. "Claire?" 

"Mm-hmm," James replied, as though Lily didn't have the card in front of her. 

She thought for a moment, then her eyes lit up as epiphany hit. "Oh! You know my cousin Carl? The gay one?" 

"Is that the only way you can distinguish him for the rest of your family? I daresay that's discrimination." 

"Shove it. You would need some way to tell the socialites apart if they were your family. Claire is Carl's twin sister. She's all right…last I heard, she was a _model."_ She rolled her eyes. "If _that_ tells you anything." 

"That she's stunningly pretty, impossibly thin, and an incredible airhead?"

"But a _nice_ airhead." 

"You wouldn't happen to be talking about me, would you?" came a voice from James's right. 

The voice startled James and Lily, who had been so deep in conversation that they hadn't noticed the tall blonde woman slide into the seat next to James. 

He looked her over--rather, he _ogled_ her. Lily scowled, for reasons she couldn't understand. "Yes," Lily snapped. "We were." 

Claire ignored her. "Lily," she said, "is this the boyfriend?"

"I wish," James replied jauntily. "But no, I'm not the boyfriend. I'm the boy who is a friend." He chortled as though he'd made a wildly funny joke.

"Oh, I can't imagine why. Although Lily always was a little difficult."

Lily's jaw dropped. "Er, Lily's right _here." _

"Of course you are. I haven't forgotten about you yet, Lily," James said, without turning around. Instead of actually facing her, he waved his fingers at her over his shoulder. She went to grab them and perhaps twist his arm in the process, but he quickly used his hand to pat Claire's bottle-blonde head. "So, Claire, what is it you do for a living?"

"Oh, I'm still a model," she said, laughing as though modeling was a hilarious position.

Lily clenched her jaw. 

~~~~~~~~~~~

"And so I said to my agent, 'No, I won't pose for Chanel--'"

Lily, who had heard this story seventeen thousand times, said tersely, "Because of that one time when you and Carl were thirteen and Carl got an allergic reaction to the mica in their eyeliner. James, can I talk to you?"

Before James could reply, Claire spoke up delightedly, "Oh, Lily, you remember that story?"

"Unfortunately. James…?"

When he _still_ didn't respond, Lily grabbed his shoulder and hissed into his ear, "You love me, remember?"

"You know, I'm slowly regretting telling you that," James commented as he allowed Lily to frog march him out of the dining hall. "Okay, why are you using my feelings towards you as blackmail?" he demanded, not feeling nearly as courteous once out of the glare of Claire. 

"I was afraid she'd hypnotized you; I had to say something. Why are you flirting with my cousin as though you have to procreate within 24 hours or you'll never be able to again?"

James smirked. "Lily, are you jealous?"

"No, I'm repulsed, and I think that Chiviz is going to your head. Come on, I think we should leave." 

"We just got here." 

"And now we're leaving." 

James grinned. "Fine. But I already got her number."

"You can't even use a telephone."

He merely smiled as he followed her out of the dining hall.

~~~~~~~~~

"What the hell can you possibly talk to her about for _four hours?"_ Lily demanded when James finally set the phone down in the receiver. 

Since James, as Lily so kindly pointed out, couldn't use a telephone, he had volunteered her to teach him how and to give him full use of her telephone. How he had managed to do this, Lily still had no idea. He could be very persuasive sometimes, she found. 

James smiled. "We have plenty to talk about. We have very stimulating conversations."

"About _what?_ The benefits of diet Snapple?!" 

"You know, Snapple _is_ very fatten--" 

Lily sighed exasperatedly. "Really, James."

"Claire is a very nice and intelligent person, and…" He grinned and clapped his hands together. "I asked her out."

"Oh?" Lily said. 

"And she said yes." He was beaming. "See, Lily, this is good! From dating Claire, I'll be able to get over you faster…and plus, I think I seriously need a girlfriend. I haven't had one in about a year and a half." 

"Get over me faster," Lily repeated dully.

"Yes, so now I won't be making you feel guilty every time I look over at you."

"I don't feel guilty every time you look at me," Lily protested. 

James gave her a knowing look. "You don't?" 

"No." 

James pulled Lily closer to him by her shoulders and stared down at her, eyes locked on hers. Lily tried not to look away, but she started shivering and her eyes eventually started darting around the room. James grinned and released her. 

"Well, when you look at me like _that_…" Lily trailed off, and sighed. "I wish we could go back to having a completely platonic relationship." 

"We _do_ have a completely platonic relationship. I'm not snogging you right now, am I?"

"Yes, but…well, _that night--_" They never said, "that night I saw you naked", they always just shortened it to _that night,_ "--changed _everything, _and I hate it." 

James smiled patiently at her, no longer taking offense from this. Still, when she mentioned it like that, a small pang of hurt always stabbed at his stomach. He never bothered to tell Lily this. "Sorry, Lily. You can't choose who you love, you know." 

She sighed. "Yes, I know. I'm living proof."

~~~~~~~~

A/N: Didn't I tell you James would be just fine?


	8. Proceeding to Get Over Lily

The Wingman

Chapter Eight: Proceeding to Get Over Lily

~~~~~~~

"He said that dating Claire would help him _get over me faster,_" Lily told Marielle over a light lunch of salads and breadsticks. "Which, of course, does _wonders_ for my self-esteem. It's like he's saying that, not only should he _not_ have those kinds of feelings for me, but that he can't wait to get rid of them." 

Marielle bit her lip. "You're acting awfully contradictory," she commented.

Lily's head jerked up from her salad. "What have I done now?"

"Well, you _wanted_ him to get over you, didn't you?" 

Lily averted Marielle's imploring eyes, stabbing at her salad violently instead. "I--I never said that."

"You said that you had absolutely no romantic feelings for him." 

"And I don't," Lily contended stiffly.

"So why do you care so much about this?"

Lily recoiled. "Just because I don't want him to act like I mean nothing to him--" 

"He's not acting like you mean nothing to him. James merely wants to give you what you want--a completely platonic relationship."

Lily was startled. "How--how do you know about that?" she asked cautiously. 

Marielle grinned. "James tells Sirius everything, and Sirius tells _me_ everything. Do you think there's anything about you and James that I don't know?"

Lily chewed carefully on her salad as she studied Marielle carefully. "Do you really think I'm acting…stupid?"

"I think you're acting like a jealous hag," Marielle responded flatly. "And I think that if you confront James on this issue that he should hit you with a sledgehammer. If he doesn't, I will."

~~~~~~~~

"I am having Claire over for breakfast next Sunday," James announced at one of their Sunday outings three weeks after he had met Claire at Petunia's wedding. He and Lily were being joined by Sirius, Marielle, Peter, and Remus for dinner. "And I'd like everyone to come. You know, give your approval." 

"What if some people don't approve?" Lily asked innocently. 

Every single head around the table snapped up. James set down his fork and knife. "Well," he responded, "I'd say that they're entitled to their own opinions." 

He ate a little of his dinner while Lily inwardly sighed in relief but tried to keep her expression neutral. But then he continued, "But I'd also say that they shouldn't hold grudges because of what Claire did to them in their sleep when they were fifteen."

Lily's head jerked to face James, who had a twinkle in his eyes and a smug grin on his face. "I don't know what you're talking about," Lily muttered. 

"You don't? Oh, allow me to remind you…Claire stole your diary and was reading it to your parents when you came down for breakfast…you cried for days and said that you were never coming out of your room again…" 

"That's enough," Lily said loudly over the chortles that had arisen around the table. "Besides, why do you automatically think it'd be me who didn't approve?"

"Well," James replied, wiping his mouth with his napkin and setting it down on his empty plate, "I didn't approve of John, did I? And besides, you don't like Claire much to begin with, so I can't imagine you'd like her any more because I'm dating her."

"You didn't approve of John because you--" Lily cut herself off once she realized what she had almost said. 

"Because I had deeply hidden romantic feelings for you?" James supplied for her, grinning. Lily had almost forgotten how candidly James was able to talk about that. "No, that wasn't the reason I didn't like him. I didn't like him because I thought he was a creep. And look--I was right. You said it yourself." 

The rest of the table was silent, merely listening to this exchange. 

"John was not a creep," Lily said hotly. 

Sirius and Marielle both snorted at this, but James only smiled pleasantly at his friend. 

"Lily, dear, he was cheating on you. With his wife. He was a creep, is a creep, will always _stay_ a creep."

Lily sighed, slightly tired with this conversation that they kept having. It always ended the same: James pointing out Lily's imperfections and her shoving his in his face, and, if it got heated enough, her crying and him storming out. "Okay, James. We'll just leave it."

He only nodded, then abruptly decided to include the rest of the table in the conversation. "So, can you all come?"

Remus glanced up from his plate in feigned surprise. "Oh, the James and Lily show is over?"

"Yes," said James solemnly. "Can you come?"

The table gave affirmative replies, and James smiled satisfactorily.

~~~~~~~~~~

"I did not want to come," was the first thing Lily declared when James opened the door for her. 

"Good morning, Lily," he said cheerfully. 

"Shove it." She threw her handbag on James's couch without looking. She'd done it so many times, it was a reflex. "Remind me why I had to come again? I already know Claire. You already know I don't like you dating her. My being here is completely pointless." Lily inhaled and sat on the back of James's couch, arms crossed over her chest. 

"It's not pointless." 

"It is. And you better go shopping with me this afternoon to make up for it," Lily said.

James grinned. "Shopping is all it'll take to forgive me for subjecting you to this horror?"

"I'm a simple girl, James. You might have to buy me something pretty if it gets too out of hand, though," she added. 

He smiled and opened his mouth to reply when there was a knock at the door. 

"If it's Claire, I'll hide," Lily warned. 

James shook his head and opened the door. Indeed, it was Claire, dressed in unusually reserved clothing. 

"Hi, James!" she said happily, throwing her arms around his neck and pulling him to her for a kiss. Lily rolled her eyes and leaned back in exasperation. Unfortunately, since there was nothing behind her to support her should she fall, she went toppling backward. Lily let out a surprised shriek, catching James and Claire's attention and breaking them apart, and found herself lying vertically on James's sofa. 

James peeked down at her, grinning in quite an amused fashion. "Gravity always wins, Lily," he smirked. 

Lily chose not to dignify that with a response. "Help me up," she grumbled instead. 

James complied. "I was going to anyway," he told her as he pulled her upright. 

Another knock on the door. It was Sirius and Marielle this time, and running up the steps behind them was Remus. 

"Where's Peter?" James asked them. 

"Oh," Remus replied, shaking Claire's hand, "I don't think he's coming." 

James frowned. "Oh. Well, I guess we should…move on then. Everyone, this is Claire. Claire, this is Sirius, and his girlfriend Marielle, and that's Remus, and you already know Lily." 

Lily forced a smile. "Yeah," she mumbled. 

She couldn't help but think that this was all her fault.

~~~~~~~~~

"So, Claire," Remus said politely over breakfast, "where did you and James meet?" 

"Oh," Claire responded, setting down her fork, "at my cousin's wedding. Lily introduced us, sort of, and we just hit it off." She grinned. "Isn't that right, Lily?"

Lily bit down hard on her tongue to refrain from commenting, nodding slowly instead. 

"Now, Claire," Sirius said, clearing his throat. "I just want to get something straight: you are a model, correct?"

Claire nodded, confused and a little scared as to where this was going.

"What are you doing with my friend James here?" 

Everyone laughed, and Claire blushed. For some reason, Lily did too.

"Well," Claire said, straightening in her chair and putting a hand on James's shoulder, "James is a lot different than the guys I've dated before--" 

Lily coughed loudly. Everyone chose to ignore her but Marielle, who raised her eyebrows warningly at her friend. 

"--and he's attractive, and," she kissed him quickly here, "a great kisser." 

"Yes, he is, isn't he?" Lily spoke up thoughtfully.

James choked on his orange juice and the rest of the table turned their attention to Lily. 

Remus and Claire, who were the only ones who didn't know about James and Lily's one night stand were quite surprised to hear this. James and Marielle both looked murderous, and Sirius just looked thoroughly entertained. 

Claire laughed nervously. "Lily, I thought you told me that you and James never dated." 

Lily took her time answering. "And I was telling the truth," she said with a nod. 

James, who finally managed to recover from his choking fit, snapped, "Lily, don't say anything you'll regret." 

"No, James," Claire said, holding up a hand to him. "I would like to hear what Lily has to say." 

"That's really not necessary," James replied. 

Claire didn't take her eyes off of Lily. "It is," she said shortly. "Lily, continue." 

Lily glanced over at James, who was looking down at his plate, looking furious and shaking his head. He was angry and upset with her, she didn't have to look at him to know that. Tears formed in her eyes, and she stood up before the tears started falling and walked out of the house.

She was followed closely by James, who slammed the door behind him. She turned, so that her back was to him, and he pulled on her shoulder roughly to make her face him. 

"I'm sorry," Lily choked out tearfully. "I--I shouldn't've done that…" 

James's brown eyes were clouded over, and Lily had never seen him so angry. Tears spilled down her face and she didn't bother to wipe them away. 

Finally, after _eons_ of silence, James spoke, and his voice quivered with fury. "I don't know what kind of strange jealousy thing you've got going here, but you need to _stop it, _Lily. You are acting immature and petty, and I don't like you when you're like this. Claire didn't want you to be here, but I convinced her to come, because I wanted her to see you like I do. But now, I think she was right, and I want you to leave." 

Lily was rendered speechless. She wanted to say something…say _anything, _but James looked completely serious. She averted his eyes and nodded. She started to walk up to the house, but James cut her off there, too. "I'll have Marielle bring your things around later. Just go, Lily." 

She stopped walking. "James, I--" 

"I'm serious, Lily. If you don't leave, I might lash out at you. _Do not make me." _

Lily swallowed the lump in her throat and started to walk home without another look at him.

~~~~~~~~~~~


	9. An Amicable End

The Wingman

Chapter Nine: An Amicable End

*************

__

How can you just walk away from me?

When all I can do is watch you leave?

Cause we shared the laughter and the pain, even shared the tears

You're the only one who really knew me at all

So take a look at me now

Cause there's just an empty space

There's nothing here left to remind me

Just the memory of your face

…And you coming back to me

Is against all odds, and that's what I have to face

~Phil Collins, "Against All Odds"

(Actually, the version I'm listening is off Mariah Carey's "Rainbow", but I know that the song is originally by Phil Collins…watch, someone's going to prove me wrong…) 

****************

James went back into his house in a remarkable calm. He sat down in his chair and began to eat, still very calmly. Everyone else was silent, until Sirius spoke up. 

"Where's Lily?" 

James didn't look up. "Lily went home." 

Marielle said accusingly, "Did you _send_ her home?"

Now he glanced at her. "No," he said. "I can't force Lily to do anything. She went home by her own free will." 

Marielle wouldn't let it go. "Did you _ask_ her to go home, then?"

"Yes."

"Oh!" she exclaimed, and she looked as though she were ready to start a fight. "Just because of _one little remark, _you're…you're expelling her!" 

"It wasn't just that one little remark," James snapped. "It's everything. It's everything she's said or done or even _thought _about, and it all just happened to culminate in that one little remark, and it sent me--and her--over the edge. So, I'm sorry Marielle, if you don't agree with the way I handled things with Lily, but she won't listen any other way, and I wanted her to listen to _me_ for once. She rarely hears me, after all." 

Marielle stared at him, and everyone else stared at her. James looked right back at her, challenging her to disagree with his reasoning. 

She didn't. "Sirius, I'm leaving," she announced, standing up from the table, her chair screeching as it made forced contact with the wooden floor. 

Sirius looked disappointed. "Mari, I don't think--" 

Marielle's eyes flashed as she looked down at him. "I have to talk to her, undo the mess that you did." 

She obviously wasn't talking to Sirius, as he hadn't done anything to Lily. Even though she wasn't looking at him, it was apparent that this statement was directed at James. 

"You'll have to undo her mess before you can even come close to mine," James replied stoically. "But I say we call this a day, shall we?"

Everyone murmured in agreement and threw their napkins on their plates or leaned back in their chairs to signify that they were finished. 

James stood and bid everyone goodbye, while Claire remained mute in her seat. Once everyone had left, he began to clear away the plates, and only then did she stand and assist him. 

"I'm sorry this turned out the way it did," James told her. "Everyone seemed to like you, though." 

Claire didn't smile. "James, why didn't you tell me that you kissed Lily?"

He shrugged. "Nothing ever came out of it, and we're over it."

"Over it." Her tone was flat. "What, may I ask, is _it_?"

James sighed as he turned to face her. "Claire, I don't want you to worry about what may have happened with me and Lily. The fact of the matter is, I really don't know where that relationship is going, because Lily's got a lot of problems that she's _got_ to work out…but even if I do speak to her again, we're only friends."

~~~~~~~~~~~~

When Marielle knocked softly on Lily's bedroom door, she was sitting stonily on her bed, just crying. Not loudly sobbing, just allowing the tears to spill freely down her face. 

Marielle didn't say anything when she walked in, just went to Lily and put her arms around her. "I'm sorry, Lily," she muttered. 

Lily pulled back and choked out, "Is he really angry?"

Marielle took a few moments to decide how to phrase this. "I think he's more disappointed in you than anything. Lily, I don't think you realize just how much you mean to him, and the fact that you're acting like this completely breaks his heart."

"Well, what do you think he's doing to me?" Lily said. "James is…..James is one of the most important people in my life, and he was…he was _reprimanding_ me. He was furious, and I felt like this wretched person for just letting that slip. He said that I'm being immature and petty and jealous, and do you know what I realized?"

Very softly, Marielle responded, "What?"

"I realized that he's right. James is always right about me…but how am I supposed to make this better?" She looked up at Marielle tearfully. "I--I think I love him, Marielle." 

Her friend sucked in a breath. "Give me a couple seconds to fully comprehend this. You--you meant that you're _in_ love with him, right?"

Lily sighed through her tears and it came out very shaky. "Was there ever any doubt in your mind?"

Marielle smiled. "No, there really wasn't. But Lily--and I hate to say this, because you have just made me very happy--I don't think that your telling him that will make up for anything. James is very mad at you."

"So I shouldn't tell him?"

"Oh, no. You should definitely tell him. Just…not right away. Give him some time to cool off, because, quite frankly, he's a little scary right now. But, yes, you should tell him."

Lily looked down at her pillows. "I've mucked it up brilliantly, haven't I?"

"Yes," Marielle replied truthfully. "Yes, you have."

~~~~~~~~~~

Three days later, Lily summoned up the courage to go talk to James. 

It was very difficult to force herself to Apparate to his house, as she was quite afraid that he would slam the door in her face, all the while screaming at her to leave him alone. 

Or, she thought as she walked up the path to the house, shaking a little, he could've proposed to Claire. 

She shivered at that and knocked on his door, two light taps of her knuckles. Lily bit her lip as she waited tensely. 

Not thirty seconds later, James came to the door, dressed in a dark sweater and his flannel pajama bottoms. Lily raised her eyes to his, and he just looked at her. 

Finally, she found her voice. "I just came to apologize." 

He didn't invite her in, but leaned against the doorway, arms crossed over his chest, brown eyes looking expectantly at her over his glasses. She kind of wished he'd let her come inside, as it was a very damp gray day, and it looked as though it could rain at any moment. It was cold, but she supposed that that was fitting. "So apologize," James said stiffly. 

Lily took a very deep breath. "I've spent the past three days, just thinking--about you. I've been thinking about what I've done to you, what I've said that could possibly bruise your ego or hurt your feelings, and I feel like I've been a horrible person, because I've said so many things like that. And then I thought about how you've always treated me, and I feel even worse, because I know that I don't deserve you. So I'm sorry for that. I'm sorry that you've been this terrific friend to me, and that I've been acting like an arse. I'm so, so sorry. But then I realized something else." She lifted her gaze from the ground where she'd been forcing herself to look. Lily smiled a little, though she was already beginning to cry again. "I realized that you are the kind of man I always pictured myself marrying."

James straightened. "Lily…I'm with Claire."

"I know. I wasn't finished." She drew in another shaky breath and looked back down at the pavement. "James, I'm not expecting you to leave Claire on the off chance that we might work out. In fact, I don't want you to. You deserve to be happy, and it's slowly appearing to me that I can't do that for you. So…" Lily met his eyes again. They were completely unreadable. "I can't see you anymore." 

His eyes widened slightly in alarm.

"No more Sundays, no more dinners three times a week, no more notes because we're bored at work…I don't know if I'd be able to control myself…."

"Then why are you here?" James interrupted. 

"I just wanted this to end amicably," Lily told him quietly. "I'll always value your friendship, James…you forced me to grow up, and I can never thank you enough for that."

James nodded dazedly. He couldn't believe that he'd never see Lily again…he had to respect her wishes. 

"Well," she said. "I guess this is good bye."

He blinked. "Yes, I--I guess it is."

She smiled at him. "Thank you, James." She turned to leave, and he wanted to put out a hand to stop her, but found himself to be immobile. 

She said the incantation to Apparate, and just like that…

Lily was gone.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: Of course, this is not the end. It is something that is quite vital, however, to the ending, which may or may not be the next chapter. 

Thanks still for the reviews; I adore them!!!

Catie


	10. The Flight of the Wingman

The Wingman

Chapter Ten: The Flight of the Wingman

*******

Lily sat amongst the small pile of presents, a plate of cake in her hand, smiling at her little group of friends and family. It was her birthday; a month since she'd severed all ties with James. She wasn't doing great, but she wasn't doing horribly either. She'd stopped tearing up every time someone mentioned his name, and could even talk to Sirius about James, though not for very long.

But now, that feeling of being completely lonely was returning. It was her birthday; she was supposed to be happy, but all she could think was, _I wish James were here. _

Lily mentally slapped herself. She couldn't think like that. It would contradict everything she'd been telling herself to keep from thinking about what could've been if she'd just realized her feelings a little earlier. 

"Lily?"

Her attention snapped back to now. Marielle was looking at her expectantly. "Are you going to open your gifts?" Marielle asked. 

"Oh," Lily said distractedly. "Sure…" She reached for the first one, from her mother and father. She took her time unwrapping the presents, thanking everyone individually with a hug and kiss as she exclaimed over their gift. 

Soon, she came to the last one, from Sirius. She unwrapped it just as slowly, and as she was doing so, she heard a slight gasp from Marielle, who was sitting right next to her.   
"What?" Lily started to ask, looking up. 

Her eyes met James's. He was standing across the room from her, but when he saw that she acknowledged his presence, he started towards her. 

"What are you doing here?" Lily asked him once he reached her. He knelt in front of her, the only available space left in the room. 

James grinned, something Lily hadn't seen in quite awhile, something she missed seeing. "Well," he said, his smile crinkling the outer corner of his eyes, "you didn't expect me to chicken out of our bet just because of one lousy little fight, now did you?" 

Lily was confused, James's presence muddling her thoughts a little. "What bet?" she asked him. 

James took a box out of his pocket. "The one that said I wouldn't remember your birthday. Here." He handed it to her, and she unwrapped it. 

A small, black velvet box lay in her hands when she was finished, and her eyes widened in surprise as her glance darted up to meet his. "James, what is--" 

He reached over and opened it for her. Sure enough, nestled in the black velvet, was a silver band with a medium sized princess cut diamond in the center, flanked by two smaller, baguette diamonds. He was grinning at her. "You did say you liked diamonds, didn't you?"

"And silver," she whispered. 

"And silver," he agreed. "See, men do have good memories."

She was quiet for a moment, trying to comprehend what this meant. James reached over and took the box from her again, taking the ring from it. He took her left hand in his and slid the ring onto her finger. Lily's mother could be heard emanating slightly strangled sobs from the corner. 

James inhaled deeply, and stared straight into Lily's eyes. "Lily, I know that we've had a stormy relationship at best, and that I've said some things that I shouldn't've, and that goes both ways. But the fact of the matter is that I love you, and I have since that first date, even if I didn't realize it. If my loving you can withstand you separating from me, another girlfriend, and your other boyfriend, then it can certainly withstand a marriage. So what do you say?" He grinned at her. "Wanna marry me?"

Lily beamed back at him. "Oh, you know you had me when you opened that damned box." 

He laughed, and leaned over and kissed her. Lily let the kiss last as long as she could breathe. 

"What about Claire?" Lily asked when they pulled apart. 

James sighed. "Well, there's an interesting story about that," he said. "See, when I went to the jewelry store, it was to buy a ring for Claire." 

"You almost _married_ my cousin?" Lily demanded, her elation stoppered for a moment. 

"The point is, I didn't. Can I continue?" 

Lily didn't respond, and he took that as a yes. "But then, as I was looking around the store, I realized that I wasn't even considering the types of rings she would like; you know, the ones with sixteen carat yellow diamonds or whatever. In fact, I wasn't even looking at rings that were her _size_--you're an eight, she's a six, by the way. It hit me then that I came in intending to buy a ring for the wrong girl, and I just bought this before I could change my mind. That was three weeks ago." He smiled.

"It took you that long to decide that you wanted to marry me?" 

"No. It took me that long to decide how I was going to break it off with Claire. I always knew that I was going to marry you," James said without hesitation.

Very pleased with this answer, Lily asked, "So how _did_ you break it off with Claire?" 

"Told her the truth. She wasn't thrilled, understandably, but she said that she sort of expected it. Am I really that predictable?"

"No," Lily responded truthfully. "I had no idea you were coming here, or that you were going to do this." 

James smiled yet again. Actually, he couldn't _stop_ smiling. "Well, then, Sirius has been doing his job. He's known about this since I bought the ring." 

Both Marielle and Lily turned to face Sirius, who was beaming proudly. "You can keep a secret?" Lily asked. 

"Yes, I can." 

Lily turned back to James and said, so quietly that only he could hear her, "But…James, all the things I said and did…" 

James sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "My, we've got a lot to talk about, don't we?"

~~~~~~~~~~

After everyone had left, Lily sat facing James on her bed. "You start," she said, looking down at her ring. Gods, this was surreal. 

"Well, first off, I don't want to get married right away." 

She looked up at him. "We haven't even been on a real date, have we?"

James grinned. "No, we're doing everything backwards. We got engaged first, and we're dating later." 

Lily smiled back. "So how long do you want to wait?" 

"Well, I say we do it when we feel…ready to. I'll wait forever if you want."

"I don't want to wait forever." 

"How does two years sound?"

Lily considered this. "Two years sounds good."

"Okay, we shall get married two years from today. Now, on to more…present events. What I said to you at that breakfast. Why did you say that I was a good kisser in front of _everyone_? And don't you dare say, 'Because I meant it'."

Lily smiled sheepishly. "It didn't just slip out, of course. I was so frustrated and mad at Claire, and at you, that I just had to say something to shut the both of you up. I daresay it worked."

James muttered an affirmative reply. "But you do realize that that was the start of everything?"

Lily was confused. "What do you mean--James, you were _mad."_

He chuckled softly. "Of course I was. I was _extremely_ mad, but I couldn't've let you just get away with that--you say a lot of stupid things, Lily, and I was tired of you taking me for granted. But, of course, I can't stay mad at you for long." 

Lily was stricken. "Is that what I what I was doing? Taking you for granted?" He nodded. 

"You were always so sure of me, that I would always be there for you--you saw me as your fallback husband or boyfriend-- and the fact that I had someone else absolutely terrified you." James looked up at her knowingly. "Right?"

Lily flopped back on the bed, completely surprised that he had her pegged again. "That's exactly it…not--not that I never saw you as _prime_ husband material, I--" 

"Lily…. I really don't want to talk about that anymore. I am willing to put it behind me…at least 'till later…I want to ask you something."

She was startled at his sudden change of tone. "Um, okay."

"You said that in seventh year, you had a crush on me."

Lily blushed. She couldn't remember saying that at all. "Well, I did. You're very attractive. Why?"

He shrugged. "Why did you have a crush on me? I never talked to you."

She smiled. "James, you didn't have to talk to me for me to be attracted to you. You're cute. It was a long time ago, anyway." 

He kissed her. "It really wasn't."

~~~~~~~

_~December 8, 1979~_

4:30 a.m.

"The sun'll come up pretty soon," Lily whispered to Marielle anxiously. She clutched at the bouquet of pink roses and lilies-of-the-valley and bit her lip as she glanced out her window. 

"That's what we're hoping," Marielle responded, a little irritably. It was too early for her to be as chipper as Lily was. 

Of course, it was Lily's wedding day, so that was understandable. James and Lily had stayed true to their first agreement where their wedding was concerned and had planned their marriage ceremony exactly two years from the day James had proposed to her. 

They had decided to marry outdoors, and at dawn, so it was very, very cold. The weather didn't dampen Lily's mood at all; it didn't even seem to concern her. Her dress had halter straps that extended from the very edges of the top of her dress and gradually angled themselves to meet at the back of her neck, leaving her chest pretty much bare. The veil was very simple, a sheath of lace stemming from a tiny tiara comb that rested at the crown of her head and went down just past her shoulder blades. Lily's hair was curled, but only after several Freezing Charms did it stay that way, as her hair was naturally as straight as it could possibly be. 

Lily bit her lip harder. "I don't see him," she said nervously, standing on her tiptoes to look further out the window. 

Marielle straightened her friend's veil absently. Lily swatted her hand away just as mindlessly. "He's probably going to stay inside as long as possible. It's cold out." 

Lily knew this, of course, but didn't say so. "I want to see him," she said softly. 

Marielle smiled patiently. "I know," she replied, patting Lily's shoulder. "You make a lovely bride, Lily." 

She turned tearfully to Marielle, beaming. "Really?" she said eagerly. 

Marielle nodded, just as sadly. "Yes. You're going to make James very happy." 

Lily nodded frantically, and swiped at her eyes. "Stop it, you're going to make me cry." 

"Bit late for that," Marielle told her shakily, and they both giggled. "You're getting married!" 

************

,

"I'm getting married," James whispered as he straightened his tie in the mirror.

"Yeah," Sirius grumbled next to him. "'Bout time, too. James, stop it, you're only screwing it up worse," he added, referring to the state in which James's tie was in. He leaned over and fixed it. "You always were hopeless at that. Remember in school--you had to have the clip on ties because you couldn't tie them yourself?" 

James blushed, and then smiled. "Yes, but I was always ready before you, wasn't I?" 

Sirius grunted. "That's not because of the ties. It's because you have _punctuality, _something I do not."

They both chuckled at that, then turned back to the mirror. "Do you think I'm doing the right thing?" James asked quietly. 

Sirius turned to his best friend again. "Marrying Lily?" 

James didn't look at him, but nodded. 

"I don't think there's anything else you can do, James. You've done everything else with her," Sirius said, grinning. "I mean, you did the friend thing. You did the one night stand. You did the 'I-hate-you-don't-ever-speak-to-me-again'. You dated. What else do you guys have _left_?" 

James sighed. "Don't phrase it like that."

~~~~~~~~~~~

Lily glanced out the window again, and spotted two dark heads walking up towards the front of the altar. Lily squealed, immediately recognizing James. 

"Marielle, there he is!" she exclaimed, pointing to him. "Look…oh, I knew I was right about that tux; he looks brilliant, doesn't he?" 

James and Sirius reached the altar and turned to face the growing number of guests, laughing and talking to each other. Lily bit her lip again. "He doesn't look nervous at all," she commented.

Marielle grinned. "He's just as nervous as you are, Lily, don't worry about that." 

"Yeah," Lily muttered, still watching her fiancée. 

Just then, Lily's mother knocked gently on the door. "Lily, dear?" she said quietly. 

The bride in question turned to face her mother. "Yes?" 

"It's time." 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sirius was waiting for Marielle at the back door. "Hullo," he said cheerfully. 

"Hi," Marielle returned. 

Unlike James and Lily, Sirius and Marielle had not stayed together those two years. They broke up--amicably, of course--six months after their friends' engagement. 

Now, Sirius and Marielle linked arms and began to make the slow trek down the aisle, towards James, who was teetering backwards and forwards on the balls of his feet. The man who was presiding over the ceremony gently put a hand on the groom's shoulder to make him stop. James smiled sheepishly up at him and watched his friends come towards him, eagerly awaiting Lily's arrival. 

The past two years of dating had been a piece of cake compared to their year or so of friendship. That wasn't to say that they had had gone without fights. There had been arguments, especially a very threatening one considering a (three-second) kiss under the mistletoe with Claire on James's part at Christmas that very nearly caused Lily to call off the wedding, the plans for which had just begun. But after two weeks of not speaking to each other, they made up, and the wedding went on. 

"Here Comes The Bride" began on the charmed ensemble orchestra, consisting of a piano, harp, flute, and violin. Lily inhaled deeply and glanced hurriedly at her father, who was looking straight ahead stoically. 

"Don't worry," Mr. Evans whispered to her, without moving his head. "Everything will be fine." 

Lily nodded, put on a smile to hid her nerves, and took that first step onto the thick blanket of rose petals that was the aisle. She nearly fainted, but looked straight ahead at--James. 

He was grinning, and he looked her in the eyes and nodded gently. Lily smiled genuinely this time, truly happy to see him. She took another step, and James's eyes seemed to be telling her _Keep going. _Another step--_keep going_. Step--_keep going._

It continued on like that until, before she knew it, Marielle was prying her bouquet out of Lily's clutches, squeezing her hand as she did so. 

James took Lily's hand now, and he could only smile at her, and that was the only thing that kept her standing up. 

The man presiding over the ceremony said a few words, but Lily didn't hear them. She only started listening when James opened his mouth to speak. 

"When I met you," he began, and it was only now that Lily detected any nervousness in his voice, his eyes, his hands--in any part of him, "you were a bossy, demanding, sharp, timid, seventeen-year-old girl, and I admit, I didn't pay you much mind. But then I met you again, at twenty, and it was like I was meeting a completely different person. You grew up, and I'm glad I had the chance to meet you as the adult. You had your faults--" Lily snorted to herself there, and he gave her that crinkly-eyed smile. James knew her faults better than anyone. "--but once they were pointed out to you, you worked on them. But that's not the point, Lily. The point is, I notice a change in you every time I see you. I want you to keep changing, even though I have no doubt that you will, even without my prodding.

"I love you Lily, and even through your changing, you could never change that. I stood by that position, and I stand by it now. Even when you try to disown me, as you did two years ago, I'm not about to give up on you."

Lily was dumbstruck, and tried to find her voice to reply. It took her a full thirteen seconds before she began, "I can be stupid sometimes, and you understand that, and you even know the reason why I'm being stupid. You said once, in one of those times, that you can't choose who you love. I'm beginning to realize why this is true. I think that there's one person out there for everyone, and you can't pick person, much as you'd like to. James, even if I could pick the person I fell in love with, it would be you…" She trailed off. She had written more the night before, but she couldn't remember it now, and decided that she didn't really want to. 

It sounded just fine like that.

~~~~~~~~

A/N: Well, there you have it. Shall I continue? I don't really know where I could go from there… 

Yeah, this ended really fluff-like, and I guess I apologize for that. =) But really, that's the way I had pictured this ending, with the proposal making a nice, full circle with the first chapter: 

Lily seemed very amused with James's indignant replies. "So if I told you my birthday now, you'd remember it and send me a birthday present?"

"If it would illustrate my point. Fire away."

"My birthday is December eighth," Lily told him, smirking. It was March. "And I expect a gift from you now, James Potter. I don't much care for gold, but I do like diamonds."

So, I guess that was kinda foreshadowing on my part…a little…okay, not really…

But thanks SO MUCH for all the feedback I've gotten…reviews are amazing, and I am absolutely floored when I go to my stats and see that there are six or seven more, and a new favorites' lister. So thanks to everyone who's ever reviewed, and even the lurkers (like me!) who read, but never review…that's okay too….

~Catie~


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